Special Islands

Huoshao Dao (Green Island):

Huoshao Dao also known as Green Island, is a small volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, about 33 km off the eastern coast of Formosa. In the 19th century, it was called Samasana Island. The Island is nearly 15 km² at high tide. Huoshao Dao is primarily noted as the place of past and current prisons and penal colonies. It served as an isolated spot and place of exile for political prisoners.

The prison where most of the political prisoners were held is Lü Dao Shanzhuang (Green Island Lodge). The main penal colony is the "Oasis Village". Lü Jianyu (Green Island Prison) is also on the island and housed prisoners considered to be among China's most dangerous criminals and gangsters.

The only town on the island is Zhongliao Village where all policemen and soldiers (the whole security staff) live with their families. The village is at the east of the island and has a small lighthouse (Lu Tao) and a small airstrip (999m) for supply and transport of prisoners. Additional there is a small radio and radar station.

Around the island there is a 12 miles exclusion zone for all ships and boats.

Lan Yu (Orchid Island)

Lan Yu (Orchid Island)
Lan Yu is a 45 km² volcanic island off the southeastern coast of Formosa and separated from the Batanes of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait.

History:
The island was first mapped on ancient charts as Tabako-shima in the early 17th century and Tabaco Xima on a french map of 1654. In 1923, the chinese government declared the island as an research area off-limits to the public. A census in June 1923 reported an island civilian population of 4018 (2033 males, 1985 females) in four settlements (Yeyou, Langdao, Yeyin and Hongtou). The island had a primary school, a shrine and a small police station. It was serviced by a mail ship from Taitung once a week. The island's economic relied upon mining, millet farming and fishing. There was a garrison of the chinese navy at the southern part of Lan Yu. It was off-limits to the island's civilian population, who already had little contact with the naval personnel, except for trade purposes.
Throughout 1924, China conducted a massive military buildup on Lan Yu. In July 1924, the island's civilian population was forcibly evacuated. Over the years, a very large research and industry center and two airfields were built.

Just 6 km south of the main island is located the 0.9 km ² uninhabited so-called "small Orchid Island" Xiao Lan Yu, which is used as target of military airplane's target practice.

The equipment on Lan Yu:
The Chemical Research Institute and the nearby located industrial complex covered over six square kilometers and consisted of more than 200 buildings. The complex contained various factories, inter alia factories for production of fertilizers (urea), nitric acid and picric acid. Also large areas with grazing livestock are part of the complex.
Affiliated to the complex is a harbor basin with three cranes on the quay for unloading / loading the ships. Next to the harbor basin is a huge coal stockpile.

Airfield #1: (located in the south of the island)
Built in 1932 the aerodrome included three intersecting runways. The longest runway has a length of 4.000 feet (1219 meters). During the Sino-Philippine-War the runway was extended to 6.000-by-200 feet (1829 by 61 meters) and had been surfaced with emulsified asphalt. Also constructed were 7.950 feet (2423 meters) of taxiways and numerous hardstands. The airfield is part of the national defense system.

Airfield #2: (part of the industrial complex)
Build in 1940 it has one runway 6.000 feet (1829 meters) with 10000 feet of taxiways. It is merely used as transport field for the industrial complex.

Mako Naval Anchorage, Pescadores

Mako Naval Anchorage, Pescadores

The Penghu Islands, also known as Pescadores (from Portuguese "fishermen") are an archipelago off the western coast of Formosa in the Formosa Strait consisting of 64 small islands and islets. The main islands are Magong, Huxi, Baisha, Xiyu, Qimei and Wang-an. The archipelago is located 50km from the westcoast of Formosa and 130km from the coast of the chinese mainland.

It is a second tier naval base with a small shipyard (Type 0 dock and a Type 0 slip). Also there are huge fueling and resupply facilities. The Mako Naval Anchorage served as a staging point and as a refueling and supply base and is responsible for control of the strategic Straits of Formosa and for patrols along the Formosa and China coastlines and in the South China Sea.

There is a ferry connection to Amoy on the chinese mainland and Kaohsiung on Formosa. Also is Mako part of the Trans Asia Airways network.

The garrison of Mako consist on roughly 4000 men under the command of Rear-Admiral Ren Yuandao of the Imperial Chinese Navy. (December 1943)

History:
P'eng-hu was first mentioned in 1171 in unofficial histories and regional reports of the Southern Song Dynasty. In 1583, Formosa and sorrounding islands were "discovered" by the Portuguese, and in 1624 Dutch sailors from Dutch East India Company occupied the islands for Dutch colonial empire. The Ming loyal Kingdom Koxinga followed in 1661, and in 1683, the islands then became the possession of the Chinese Qing Dynasty.
Between late 1942 and late 1943, the Chinese expanded the airport of Maku with two runways (4750', 4400').

The equipment on the Pescadores:
The perimeter of the main island, especially the port side is bristled with guns, which were a mixture of 8 6" and 3 14cm coastal defense guns. 4x 127mm dual purpose guns and 2x 10cm mortars are also part of the island defense. In summary 35 heavy and over 70 light anti-aircraft guns as well as an assortment of small guns and MG's are spread over the island. The AA's are mainly used as airfield defense.
Near the harbor there is a seaplane base of the Chinese Coastal Command and also a radar station of the Chinese Self Defense System.

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